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IMPORTANT: Select a location.To obtain application forms, location-specific information and contacts, select a town or zip code.

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Which place to enter?

The location is used to determine the responsible office for the selected administrative service. In most cases you can enter your place of residence to find the competent authority. However, there are also cases in which a different location must be specified. Here are some examples:

Birth certificateYou want to get married and need a birth certificate. You live in Hanover, but you were born in Celle. You must therefore state your place of birth, i.e. Celle.

Business registrationYou would like to register a business in Braunschweig. Your place of residence is Hanover. You must therefore state the location of your future business, i.e. Braunschweig.

Apply for a building permitYou would like to build a house in Wunstorf and therefore apply for a building permit. Her place of residence is currently Hanover. You must indicate the place where the house is to be built. In this case it is Wunstorf.

Authorisation to represent commercial arms manufacture and/or trafficking: issue


If you wish to engage in the commercial manufacture or trade of firearms through a deputy, you require a deputy permit.

The deputy permit is issued to the permit holder for a specific deputy and can be limited in time. This also applies to the appointment of a person to manage a branch office or a dependent branch.

The permit may be limited to certain types of firearms and ammunition.

Who should I contact?

Responsibility lies with the district or independent city in whose district the activity is to be carried out.

This procedure can also be handled by a "single point of contact". The "Single Point of Contact" is a special service offered by the municipalities and the state for service providers.

Requirements

  • Applicant and deputy must be over 18 years of age
  • Reliability of both the applicant and the deputy
    • The required reliability requires above all that the applicant and the deputy have no criminal record.
  • Personal suitability of the applicant and the deputy
    • The required personal aptitude is not possessed, for example, by those persons for whom facts justify the assumption that they are legally incompetent, addicted to alcohol or mentally ill.
  • Specialist knowledge of the deputy in the case of commercial arms trading
    • If required, the deputy can obtain the necessary proof of specialist knowledge of the most important firearms and firearms regulations and of the type, construction and handling of common firearms and ammunition by taking an examination at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
    • Specialist knowledge is deemed to have been acquired if the deputy meets the requirements for registration of a gunsmith's business in the register of craftsmen.
  • Proof of a need
    • The need (a reasonable cause) may arise from a particularly recognizable personal or economic interest, for example as a gun manufacturer or gun dealer.
  • Commercial or economic enterprise
  • A permit is only issued if the manufacture or trade in weapons is carried out commercially or independently as part of a commercial enterprise.

Which documents are required?

  • Identification document
  • Proof of expertise
  • Proof of expertise
  • Proof of establishment and of the operating or business premises
  • Copy of any firearms manufacturing/trading license already issued, if applicable
  • Extract from the commercial register

What are the fees?

Fees are charged in accordance with No. 109 of Annex 1 to Section 1 (1) of the General Fee Regulations of the State of Lower Saxony (AllGO).

Process flow

You can obtain the permit as follows:

  • You make an application and submit the required documents
  • T he required documents are checked, and you may have to submit additional documents if necessary
  • Your age, reliability, personal suitability, expertise and need will be checked.
  • T he decision regarding the firearms law is made

What deadlines do I have to pay attention to?

The permit expires if the permit holder has not commenced the activity within one year of the permit being issued or has not exercised it for one year. The time limits may be extended for special reasons.

The holder of a permit under the Weapons Act must notify the competent authority within two weeks of the commencement and cessation of operations as well as the opening and closing of a branch office or dependent branch.

Source: Serviceportal Niedersachsen (Portalverbund des Bundes und der Länder)